River Falls, Wis. – Ty Law knew what he was getting into when he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Law’s impression of the Chiefs was the same as many people’s impression of the Chiefs. Which is to say, they were just good enough to get beat.

“I always thought they were a very talented team, but for some reason or another they couldn’t get over the hump,” Law said. “They’d give you their best shot, but somewhere in the fourth quarter they’d let it slip away. When I played against them, we felt as long as we kept playing we were going to win the game.

“They were going to get some yards and get some points, but you could attack them on defense. That’s what the mentality was, but hopefully we can change that.”

Change was the theme of the Chiefs’ offseason, starting with the retirement of coach Dick Vermeil and the hiring of Herm Edwards. Offensive coordinator Al Saunders also left, leaving a unit that finished No. 1 in the league in total offense. Instead of going outside the organization, Edwards decided to promote longtime offensive line coach Mike Solari to replace Saunders.

The Chiefs also have a new left tackle (Kyle Turley), a new defensive end (Tamba Hali), two new defensive tackles (James Reed and Ron Edwards) and a new veteran presence in the secondary in Law. At 32, he’s coming off a season in which he tied for the league lead with 10 interceptions.

So much new

The changes begin with personnel, but don’t end there. The Chiefs have a new philosophy, too. Having made the playoffs once during Vermeil’s five-year tenure, they’ve given up on the notion that their high-octane offense was going to get them to the Super Bowl.

“It’s always a legitimate question when your defense isn’t performing well,” Chiefs general manager Carl Peterson said. “When Marty Schottenheimer was here, we drafted Derrick Thomas and the emphasis was on defense. When I hired Dick, I knew it would change and it did. We went the other way. What we’re trying to do is get it balanced. We’ve had the No. 1 or No. 2 offense in the NFL the last three or four years, but you can’t have that with the 30th defense.”

“Coach Vermeil was an offensive guy,” defensive end Eric Hicks said. “That was his persona, what he was known for, and we did a great job of throwing the ball around and making big plays. But defense is the key, especially in our division where there are so many great running teams. If you’re going to win in our division, you’ve got to be able to stop the run so you don’t get killed by that play-action pass.”

Emphasis switches sides

Edwards is the antithesis of Vermeil. He’s relatively young at 52, he played in the league, and he cringes at the thought of a quick-strike offense for fear that his defense will wear down from overwork.

It’s not like Edwards didn’t know about the Chiefs’ issues when he took the job after five years as coach of the New York Jets. He has known Peterson since the 1970s, when Peterson attempted to recruit him to UCLA. In 1977, Peterson was in the Philadelphia Eagles’ front office when they signed Edwards as a rookie free agent.

Edwards went on to become secondary coach for the Chiefs during the Schottenheimer era, when Kansas City had some of the most dominant defenses in the league.

His message to the players after taking the job? Say goodbye to the gaudy offensive stats. Win or lose, the Chiefs under Edwards will stress ball control and defense.

The strategy makes sense on several levels. One look at the Chiefs’ home/road record under Vermeil cried out for an improved defense. They were 28-12 at Arrowhead Stadium, where they allowed 19.6 points per game, and 16-24 on the road, where opposing offenses chewed them up to the tune of 26.3 points a game.

“Look at the teams that win consistently and go to the playoffs,” Edwards said. “They all have one thing in common. They win on the road and they play defense. That’s because defense helps you win on the road.”

L.J. is The Man

Home or road, the Chiefs will put their fate in the hands of workhorse tailback Larry Johnson, who began last season as a backup and finished it as the most prolific ground gainer in the league. Johnson played in 16 games, including nine starts, and ran for 1,750 yards. With Priest Holmes expected to retire because of injuries, the job is Johnson’s.

Edwards’ plan is for Johnson to move the chains and keep the defense off the field. Not that the defense is as porous as it once was. The Chiefs allowed 20.3 points a game in 2005, their lowest figure since 1999, and seventh vs. the run.

Enter Law, the possible Hall of Famer who earned three Super Bowl rings in New England before joining Edwards with the Jets. He could be just what the Chiefs need, a big-name veteran presence who will bring attitude and confidence in the huddle at crunch time.

“He has an air about him,” Edwards said. “He’s a guy who’s played on good defenses and won championships. He brings a sense of how to practice, how to prepare to play. He’s used to playing in big games and winning big games. You want those kinds of guys, that kind of mentality. Guys like that infuse everybody else. When the game is on the line, he’ll step up and say, ‘All right, this is what we do.”‘

Key stat: No team in the AFC West is as adept as the Chiefs at moving the chains. They made 347 first downs in 2005, third in the league behind Indianapolis and Seattle.

FYI: The Chiefs haven’t won a playoff game since 1993, when Joe Montana was their starting quarterback. They have won the division three times since, but have lost all four of their postseason games. Their past three losses have come by scores of 38-31, 14-10 and 10-7.